iosufm

Well, figured since its start of my 4th year here that they would stop doing the yearly visit to the home when i goto renew my o visa for being married to my wife. True that the immig office has had personnel changes since last year, but i was quite surprised to go through the whole "where did you meet your wife" "why are you with your wife" yada yada yada. Then as per previous visits my wife had to draw up a map to the house and was told that yet again officials would come and take notes to check on my given address. Heh, next year; had we brought her back to my country, she'd be a citizen.

Anywhoo, my question goes out to ppl who have been here much longer than me. After 20 years do they still come to the house? Will i be 90years old being asked to recant where i met my wife and where we went when we dated?

The accent is on the last syllable, the ya, not on the first a or the second a as many think.

dude, everythinNNNGGG in thailAAANNNDDD has an accent on the last syllaBLLe. Would you like some coLLAAA sir?

huu loot หูรูดถุงนํ้าดี was the diagnosis from the surgeon after doing a camera scope of a family member's liver, what does it mean?

Interesting, I've always had to the bank leter, but in four years neve had a visit, what area do you live In? Or more accuratley which immigration office?

Samut Prakan. I noticed the office has a new person in charge this time around, so perhaps that's the reason. But she wanted every piece of paper immaginable which for a 2nd timer is strange. This is Thailand though, i expect strange.

I applied last week for my 2nd yearly extension for an o visa supporting a thai wife and baby. I was surprised that all the original paperwork had to be resubmitted as was submitted the first year. So be it though, they make the hoops, i jump through them. However, today, just 4 days after submitting the application immigration guys dropped by the house again just like they did last year when i first applied. It's the same address, same wife, same baby, strange they would send people out again to check. They sent 4 of them as well, cost me 4 pepsi's. One guy took pic's, one guy filled the paperwork out and the other two played with our kid. Anyways i'm wondering if that is par for the course, will i go through the same hoops every year?

As well, though i qualify for being grandfathered in and i have always had more than the required 400K, they suggested i go and get an additional letter from the bank to show deposit dates to show the frequency with which i transfer money into the country. I trade the markets for a living and dribble money in bi-weekly to have such a record available to make the story water tight, still, i find it curious that though the rules say i dont need to show income they recommended that i do to help the decision process go more smoothly.

If Thai people were a stock....they'd be Enron. Damm, why can't i short thai people.

Short the SET. It's a proxy for being short thai government intelligence.

Positon: short the set from much higher prices & lovin' it.

Yet another reason to increase my short position on the SET. This guy has been my ticket to print money, its easy to profit from stupidity. Lovin' it.

I immigrated to Panama from another country. Silly me for thinking Thailand would be the same experience for me as Panama bends over backwards to get you into the country in whichever path you want to take be it residency, temporary visits or citizenship. The coup de gras with them is the vip service you get at the airport if you are considering residency or immigrating. They have a representitive to meet you as you deboard and you're taken right past immigration to a vip lounge where you are served champagne while you wait 2 minutes for you passport to be stamped in. That's followed by a limosine ride to your hotel and the first 2 nights paid for in advance. So if anybody is getting booted out i would recommend Panama, and hey, we use the US$ as a bonus. All that being said, i love Thailand and thai people and for now i would love to raise my baby here, but it's out of my hands.

Every time i read a post from Phil Conners it reads in my mind the way Jack Nicholson would say it, strange but it adds to the fun.

May i add this hypothetical to the discussion under the assumption that he gets grandfathered in. Since he and i are both a bit under 50, does this mean that upon approval we cannot leave Thailand? When this process started i assume he, like myself, obtained a single entry non imm. o and we entered before the date the rules came into effect. So though we get an extension, that would mean that he would have to remain in Thailand for 5 years and myself for 17 years until we both reached age 50. For if we left, we would have to reapply over again from the start. Since we are under 50, that would mean we are no longer considered grandfathered in. Am i correct? I hope there is a flaw in my line of thinking for it not, what happens if there is an emergency back in a visa holders home country and that person was required to leave. What a prediciment that would be.

Good point, i was wondering about the 40K deposit as well. In trying to think ahead for this, my wife and i set up a joint bank acount here as i wanted to have both our names on the account book to reinforce our marital status for when immigration came knocking last year for the house visit stage of the process. I wanted to try to satisfy the proof of monthly income as best i could so beginning December i began wiring in 40K baht. It shows as a wire transfer from our joint bank account in Panama to our local Thai bank here via swift code bank to bank wire transfer.

So when we go in March; behind my chips at the roulette wheel i know i've tried my best to fill their requirements by having the 400K and 4 consecutive transfers of over 40K baht from joint account to joint account.

I don't know if that qualifies as proof of income since i do not have, nor do i require a work permit here. There are probably others here in the same sort of situation so i'll post in March as to whether the roulette ball fell on black or red.

Thank you Lopburi, you've made me feel a bit better. I just hate the "TIT" pharase that factors into everything here. Thanks all.

Thanks so far friends

here's the dates exactly...

Entry Date with Non Immig O : March 14, 2006

Began Application for yearly extension: Jun 11, 2006

Approval granted on Sept 22 for yearly extension until March 13, 2007

We have the 400K in the bank for over a year now and starting last month i am now depositing 50K a month for Jan, Feb, Mar in preparation for the application to show ability to support my wife and son.

I'm confused with this grandfathering in of extensions. I am 32 years old. My wife is thai, 32. Our son is one year, 5 months old. I have always had the 400K+ in the bank. I draw money from my stock market account back home when needed. No work permit needed for here. When i got my first O visa last year it took immigration 3 months to approve the extension after applying when the 3 months had expired. In September i received the approval for a 6 month extension until March of this year. The date coincides with the day i first arrived with my o visa. I'm to reapply in March for my second one year extension, though the first one granted was really only 6 months due to the length of time it took to approve it. I called our towns immigration officer that we deal with and she told me that as long as i have the 400K in the bank 3 months ahead of time, which is right now it will be extended.

I'm shaking as i write this. I dont know what my wife and i will do if i cannot stay here.

I professionally trade stocks/bonds/currency for my own account and when asked in english i describe my occupation as being a "trader" or "securities trader". I don't know the equivilant of this in thai other than "len huun" which i've picked up as meaning 'play stocks'. I am wondering if there is a better translation for my profession in thai, can someone help me?

You can watch hockey live if you have a fast connection, fast processer and video card.

download the player here http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Inte...TVUPlayer.shtml

there's nhl and nhl 2

Quality is so/so, but give it time, this is the first inning of video streaming era.

I wonder if any of the Thai politicians put their brains in gear before opening their mouths.

...thai politicians have brains???

I mean, every time i go, i get a "still under consideration, granted one month extension" stamp in the passport. I now have one for May, June, July and August.

What is the average wait time when waiting to get the approval back for the one year extension of my o visa? This new one is month number 4, and we've already had the immigration people come to the house last month with the map we drew them, i thought this time would be the charm.

As well, my reserve bank account is getting down to the last few baht and i didn't want to touch the account that has the 400K in it but it looks like i might have to now. Will that affect the process if i have to eat a bit into that account

arrive, go upstairs to departures and catch a taxi dropping somebody off.

Where do TMD get these forecast data anyway?

where else, from maw duu

In this country, it is best to be prepared. I carry pepper spray on me at all times now and never ever involve myself with any thai's who drink. The pepper spray set me back only 400 baht and clips onto the inside of my jeans. It should keep me out of the morgue, out of the Hilton, and gives me enough time to run back to my foxhole.

Again, it's not the fault of the individual Thai people. Alcoholism and acts of extreme behaviour of this frequency is a byproduct of the lack of educational infastructure in the country. Working 12 hours a day for 200 baht carries a lot of pent up frustrations readily ignited by alcohol.

Thailand is not exactly covering itself in glory at the moment!!!

oh, thailand covers itself in something allright. i have to hand it to the thai's though, they all know muay thai and can kick the poop out of all us farangs, but they save time and energy by popping us with lead.

T

Keep your money out of Thailand and out of reach of the Thai courts and you’re soon to be ex wife.

As a money manager i'd say that keeping your money out of Thailand is the best advice one could possibly give. The rules work against foreigners here for land ownership. The market is illiquid and full of microstocks that pay iffy dividends. Banks pay miniscule interest on savings accounts. No mutual funds available. Government bond is 4%, several basis points below the US 2yr.

There are many countries that will bend over backwards for your money, allowing you to buy land, giving you permanant residency, tax relief, and many investment vehicles. Heck, Greneda even gives you a condo for a certain level of investment.

Keep the minimum 400k/800K here, invested in money market savings account, and move mama soup money in as needed. That way you make the low cost of living work for you, adding to your annual return in the process.

Oh and i find if you treat your thai wife with courtesy and respect its equally returned.

It also gives the impression that farangs consider themselves so much cleverer than Thai people.

oh but WE ARE

bike paths, pssht, ngoh jing jing